By Kim Malcolm, KERA 90.1 reporter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-482041.mp3
North Texans respond to needs of young evacuees
Dallas, TX –
Kim Malcolm, KERA 90.1 reporter: Eight-year-old Charles Turner has big brown eyes and a befuddled expression on his face. Ten days ago, he was just starting third grade at his school back in New Orleans. Now he's with his grandparents and brother and sister sleeping in a strange bed at a Motel 6 in Euless in the Mid-Cities. Although most of his family has been accounted for, he's very worried about them.
Charles Turner, New Orleans evacuee: I been worried about my grandpa, my daddy, my aunties, my cousins. I don't know where they at. I call them, and they don't call me back!
Malcolm: When was the last time you saw them?
Turner: I don't know, a month ago, before all this started happening?
Malcolm: Charles is one of the lucky ones. He was evacuated with his baby sister before the storm hit, and didn't experience the hell on earth that was the Louisiana Superdome last week. Debbie Jefferson and her son did go to the Superdome, and what happened to them was terrifying.
Debbie Jefferson, New Orleans evacuee: I was with my son, and I had to grab somebody off my son, and he's 13. They grabbed my son, and I had to get this man off. They didn't enough police or soldiers there. It was a madhouse. They were just killing people, they stomped old people; there were stampedes.
Malcolm: How's your son doing now?
Jefferson: He just went to sleep. He's still scared, and he's still shaking, but he went to sleep now that he sees no one's going to hurt him.
Malcolm: Local relief workers don't yet have an official number on how many children are among the evacuees in North Texas, but it's a sure bet there are thousands of children who've been severely affected by the loss and dislocation they've endured, and the violence they've seen or experienced first-hand. Patsy Reed Guest is a licensed professional counselor with the Cedar Hill Independent School District, and a board member of the Texas Youth Commission. She's been counseling children and families at Reunion Arena since Thursday, and is most worried about the kids who witnessed murders or rapes.
Patsy Reed Guest, counselor, Texas Youth Commission board member: I think you're going to see a lot of acting out with these kids. And I think you're going to see more aggression, you're going to see more difficulty in the schools with these individuals, more difficulty for teachers to control the classroom because it's hard to get these kids back in a structured setting, because they're acting out their environment. It wasn't a structured environment. It was chaotic.
Malcolm: Counselors are using play therapy with children under the age of 10, to help them express their feelings. And to bring back a sense of normalcy, representatives of the Dallas school district were registering children over the weekend. But Patsy Guest warns that long term, these children and families will need a lot of support that schools alone can't supply.
Guest: I think we should make sure there are available resources, and a liaison to help these individuals connect to these resources. Schools can play a big role in this, but they're not mental health workers, so something's got to be done to help fund the schools.
Malcolm: In the meantime, Brittany and Rashawna McGee aren't thinking about school. They're waiting for a bus to take them and their grandmother Ernestine to some permanent housing. A family from Argyle has just walked up to them and offered some toys, clothing and books, and the girls quickly pick one out. For a few minutes, they escape together into a story.
Brittany and Rashawna McGee, New Orleans evacuees: Big brown bear, beautiful balloon...you read this one...
Malcolm: For KERA 90.1., I'm Kim Malcolm.
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